Shabushabu-Manno しゃぶしゃぶ萬野 ルクア大阪店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

I was originally going to propose a return to Sukiyaki Shabu Shabu Tsukada (すき焼 しゃぶしゃぶつかだ) at the trendy KITTE shopping mall, but the crew was in the mood for something different. So, back to the drawing board...

Eventually with the help of Tabelog, I came up with Shabushabu-Manno (しゃぶしゃぶ萬野), tucked away on the 10th floor of LUCUA.

Shabushabu-Manno is one of those solo shabu shabu restaurants that have become increasingly popular across Japan these days.

They offer a pretty straightforward lunch menu with only few options priced between 1,600 yen and 2,800 yen (depending on the grade of beef you choose).

I wasted no time getting my two dipping sauces —  a citrusy soy sauce infused with yuzu and a rich, nutty Japanese sesame sauce while the savory kombu dashi broth began to simmer.

Each lunch set came with a colorful bowl of seasonal vegetables including pumpkin, radish, mushroom, peppers and garden greens.

And a choice between wagyu lean beef or....

....the more well-marbled shoulder loin (or both, if you're willing to drop a few more bucks).

I just love the one-person-one-pot setup, no need to cook for anyone else but myself!

Of course, the set also came with a small bowl of rice to go with the beef. Not bad.

I had heard great things about their pork shoulder loin, but with everyone craving for local wagyu this afternoon, we didn’t get around to trying it this time. Guess that’ll have to wait until next visit!

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 10/F LUCUA 1100, 3-1-3 Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0001, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Umeda 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6344-0298

Website: https://www.mannoya.com/shops/shabushabu/

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 11:00pm daily